Is it legal to file divorce suits in two nations?
Ashish Mehta
I am an Indian Muslim woman. I got married to a Canadian national of Azerbaijan origin 10 years back. All these years, I experienced domestic violence at the hands of my husband and have a 4-year-old special needs daughter out of this marriage. She is residing with me in the UK for the last four years. My husband is single with no responsibilities, lives and works in Dubai and earns Dh42,500 per month. On August 13, 2017, my husband sent me a divorce certificate dated July 6, 2017, from the UAE via email and I believe he obtained it by misleading the UAE Court.
On the document, it was stated that he is a Muslim and I am a Hindu while I am a Muslim by birth and he is an atheist from the former USSR. Also, he had provided three dates for talaq, which was again a blatant lie. I had no clue about this divorce petition and unaware of any proceedings in the UAE court. Besides, my husband has already applied for divorce in the UK in June 2016 and I am currently going through those divorce proceedings and financial settlement. He is not providing maintenance as ordered by the UK court in February 2017. The proceedings in the UK have been stayed for the financial settlement due to non-disclosure. Is it legal to file divorce suits in two countries? Will this be recognised by the governments of India, the UAE and Canada? Pursuant to your queries, you have not mentioned what is the religion by birth of your husband. We assume he is a Muslim by birth. If both of you are Muslims, your divorce shall be dealt with as per Shariah Law. As per the Shariah and the UAE Personal law, a husband has the right to divorce his wife if the divorce is pronounced in the ‘Quranic’ way, if the married couple are followers of Islam.
Article 106 of the Federal Law No. 28 of 2005 Concerning Personal Status in the UAE, states (the ‘Personal Status Law of the UAE’):
1. The divorce authorised by the husband shall be valid and shall be legalised by the Judge.
2. Any divorce contrary to the above clause shall be proved before the Court by evidence or declaration, whereupon the divorce shall be attributed to the date of declaration, unless the court finds a previous date. Effects resulting from divorce by recognition shall be governed by the rules of Islamic Law.
The divorce verdict pronounced by the UAE Court should be valid as the court would have satisfied itself with the compliance of all requirements and accordingly issued the divorce judgment. Since you feel that your husband obtained the divorce by fraudulent means, you may engage a legal practitioner in the UAE who could obtain a copy of the case file from the court, review the court judgment and documents filed by your husband to determine if he has filed any false information and/or document to the UAE Court.
Depending on the outcome of this document review, you may file a fresh petition in the ‘Personal Status Court’ in the UAE against your husband, stating the divorce obtained by him from the UAE court is by fraudulent means. If the fraud is established, you may then initiate a criminal complaint against him. Further, you may also state that divorce proceedings were first initiated in the UK in 2016, whereas he obtained the divorce in 2017 in the UAE. Therefore, the UAE Court may re-open the entire case.
On reviewing the judgment, you may consider claiming maintenance and child support expenses from your husband. You are entitled for maintenance and alimony from him, in accordance with Article 67 of the UAE’s Personal Status Law. It states: “The wife’s alimony shall start from the date the husband abstains from supporting her. It shall be considered a debt due from him without dependence on the judiciary or mutual consent, but it shall be extinguished by payment or absolution.
Actions for claiming alimony for a previous period exceeding three years from the date of filing the action shall not be heard unless it is imposed by mutual consent.”
When employer uses foul language to an employee
If an employer has used foul language when addressing employees and we have a recording of it, what legal recourse do we have against the employer? Is it legal for us to have recorded his abuse? Pursuant to your queries, an employer should not use foul or abusive language with his employees. Electronic voice recording of an individual should not be done without the consent of the person. However, in the case of usage of foul language by the employer, an employee has to first file a complaint with the Ministry of Human Resource and Emiratisation (the ‘Ministry’).
This is in accordance with Article 136 of the Federal Law No. 8 of 1980 Regulating Employment Relations, stating: “The Employment department shall not in application of the provisions of the Law and the rules and orders issued in implementation thereof, whenever possible, initiate criminal proceedings before giving advice and guidance to employers and employee who commit violations against the law and, when necessary, gives them written warning to rectify their situation so as to be in accordance with the Law, before initiating criminal proceedings.”
Upon advice from the ministry, an employee may approach the police station and file a complaint against the employer. The recordings in an electronic device cannot be made public but can be submitted to the relevant government departments. The voice recording is subject to scrutiny by the forensic laboratory and public prosecution.
Further, the employee may have to provide witnesses, especially from among his or her colleagues who have heard the employer’s usage of foul language. However, you may not require a third-party witness for verbal abuses in all circumstances. This is in accordance with Article 374 of the Federal Law No. 3 of 1987 on Issuance of the Penal Code, which states: “Punishment by detention for a period not exceeding six months or by a fine not exceeding Dh5,000 shall apply if slander or abuse is transmitted by telephone, or face to face with the victim and in the presence of a third party.
Punishment by a fine not exceeding Dh5,000 shall be imposed if slander or abuse occurs face to face with the victim alone without the presence of a third party.” Ashish Mehta is the founder and Managing Partner of Ashish Mehta & Associates. He is qualified to practise law in Dubai and the United Kingdom. Full details of his firm on: www. amalawyers.com. Readers may e-mail questions to: news@khaleejtimes.com or send them to Legal View, Khaleej Times, PO Box 11243, Dubai.